Ronda Rousey thanks Gina Carano for changing her life, but would still fight her

UFC Bantamweight Women’s champion Ronda Rousey will step into the Octagon this Saturday to make history in the first-ever women’s UFC bout. With that looming on the horizon, Rousey recently spoke to the New York Post to pay homage to the groundbreaking female fighter that paved the way for her success. That fighter is former Strikeforce Women’s champion Gina Carano, and Rousey thanked her with these statements:

“I would never be an MMA fighter if it wasn’t for Carano. I’m not dumb enough to not be grateful. … I just say thank God for Gina Carano.”

“I really think what she’s doing with films is just as much an influence on women’s MMA as her fighting again,” Rousey said. “She’s continuing to represent us very well, bringing women’s MMA to an audience that doesn’t know MMA really at all.”

“What she did before me has radically changed my life.”

“I really think what she’s doing with films is just as much an influence on women’s MMA as her fighting again,” Rousey said. “She’s continuing to represent us very well, bringing women’s MMA to an audience that doesn’t know MMA really at all.”

Read more: Ronda Rousey, UFC women’s bantamweight champion, on Gina Carano: ‘I would never be an MMA fighter if it wasn’t for her’ http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/the_main_event/rousey_wasn_carano_would_never_for_FmdU666wQqVdheMn1ZX7mK#ixzz2LHiGBQFc

Rousey shows respect for the famous female fighter, who has moved on to become a movie star with some potentially huge roles on the horizon. When asked if she would ever venture into this realm, Rousey replied:

“I’m a fighter first. I came straight [to this interview] from sparring, not from getting my eye brows done. Once I feel like my fighting career is done, then maybe I’ll go into something else. I really havent gotten hit yet. If it keeps going that way, I can fight until I’m 90.”

Rousey continues her outspoken, confident ways as she looks to defend the UFC Women’s Bantamweight championship for the first time. Her focus remains on fighting, and while she has been regarded as highly beautiful, she is not willing to rest on the laurels of her looks. Rousey appears hungry to continue getting better at MMA, and while her career may still be relatively young, she is already appearing as overly dominant in her way of finishes.

And while Gina Carano set the standard for what Rousey has taken to the next level, “Rowdy” would have no qualms stepping into the cage for her role model:

“Of course I would fight her. I would just hope that she’d be OK. Obviously, I’d want to win.”

Why on Earth are people voting 'poor' on this? This is one of the least douchey things she's ever said. And what's more, she's right, Gina did do a lot to bring women's MMA to prominence and the new generation of women's fighters should definitely be appreciative of that fact.